Acts 2:5-8. 5Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?
Have you ever needed a reversal? Have you ever been going in the wrong direction and had to turn around? Or maybe you needed everything to completely change at school, or on the team?
Do you remember the story of the Tower of Babel? After the flood, mankind refused to spread over the Earth and multiply God’s love and grace, and instead they attempted to “make a name for themselves,” and build a tower to Heaven. The rulers at Babel were sending humanity down a very dark path, just like before the flood. There needed to be a complete reversal.
So what did God do? He came down to Earth to see what was going on.
Genesis 11:5. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.
Do you remember what happened next? God confused the languages of all the people, which forced them to stop building the tower and sent them scattering over the whole Earth, which is what God wanted in the first place. God reversed everything they were doing.
At Pentecost, God will come down to us again. How did God respond at Pentecost when the Spirit came down? He responded with a reversal of Babel.
At Babel, people were moving away from God. But at Pentecost, people will repent and move toward God.
At Babel, the people wanted to make a name for themselves. At Pentecost, people will proclaim the name of Jesus.
At Babel, the people wanted to be known for doing a great thing. At Pentecost, the people heard about the “great things God had done” (Acts 2:13).
At Babel, the people (or at least the rulers) wanted to prevent the scattering of the people. At Pentecost, God will scatter people to share the good news of Jesus.
At Babel, God separated people to prevent more slavery. At Pentecost, God unified people in the Spirit to free us from our slavery to sin from their bondage to sin and death.
Babel was all about human effort, but Pentecost is all about God’s grace. God came to us. Again. And just like God came to us with his loving Spirit, we can go to others in the love of God by the power of the Spirit, taking the message of the hope of Jesus to all who would listen and believe.
You: Is there any part of your life that needs a reversal?
You with Jesus: How can you take the love of Jesus to people that are different from you?
Prayer: Father, your Spirit lets me love all my brothers and sisters in Christ, even those who are different from me. By the power of the Spirit help me to share the good news of Jesus with everyone. Amen.
TLICfamily 